Dear listeners,
Over the weekend, I watched an entertaining new documentary — or, as it’s billed, a “dockumentary” — about the genre of music that’s retroactively come to be known as “yacht rock.”
You might be familiar with the term, which encapsulates a disparate scene of mostly California-based musicians who brought jazz, soul and R&B influences to mainstream pop and soft rock in the late 1970s: Think Kenny Loggins, Toto, Christopher Cross and just about any song with backing or lead vocals by Michael McDonald. What you might not realize is that the term “yacht rock” was coined not by music critics or even the musicians themselves, but by a ragtag group of comedians who lovingly parodied some of those musicians in a beloved web series that premiered in 2005.
“Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary,” currently streaming on Max, features interviews with J.D. Ryznar, a creator of the web series, as well as Loggins, Cross, McDonald and a host of the other artists who defined the genre’s sound — even if it wasn’t considered a genre at the time. “To us it was just the next logical step in making pop music,” Loggins says in the film. Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen had the documentary’s strongest rejection of the term: At the mere mention of “yacht rock,” he hangs up on the film’s director Garrett Price — though not before suggesting a course of action unprintable in this family newsletter.
Regardless of what you call it, (“smooth music,” “the West Coast sound” and “progressive R&B pop” are all offered), Price’s documentary makes the case that this was indeed a unified scene, driven by overlapping influences, shared personnel and playfully competitive studio one-upsmanship. Like the web series that preceded it, the new documentary ultimately offers a deeper appreciation of this sometimes-maligned music, which is worth a considered reappraisal.
Today’s playlist is one such opportunity. It features some of the aforementioned yacht rock luminaries alongside a few of the younger artists they influenced, like De La Soul, Warren G and Thundercat. Listening on a decent pair of speakers or headphones is a must; donning a captain’s hat is entirely optional.
No wise man has the power,
Lindsay
Listen along while you read.
1. The Doobie Brothers: “What a Fool Believes”
In 1975, Michael McDonald — who had been a backing vocalist in Steely Dan — joined the California rock group the Doobie Brothers. With his unassuming bearing and a surprisingly velvety voice, McDonald transformed the band from a gruff rock outfit into a harbinger of the breezy, sophisticated sound that would soon take over radio airwaves. In 1978, McDonald co-wrote what would become one of the defining hits of the era, the Grammy-winning No. 1 single “What a Fool Believes,” with his friend and fellow yacht-rocker Kenny Loggins. McDonald’s voice soars effortlessly from his lower register to his angelic falsetto, giving the chorus a wistful power.
2. Kenny Loggins: “I Believe in Love”
Shortly after the dissolution of his duo Loggins and Messina, but before he became the “King of the Movie Soundtrack” in the 1980s, Loggins embarked on a solo career with his 1977 debut “Celebrate Me Home.” Barbra Streisand sang a version of the Loggins-composed “I Believe in Love” in the 1976 movie “A Star Is Born,” but his subsequently released solo version, with its breezy feel and jazz-influenced chord changes, falls more squarely within the yacht rock aesthetic.
3. Steely Dan: “Peg”
The documentary touches on one of the more hotly debated philosophical questions of this genre: Is Steely Dan yacht rock? I have a complicated answer: sometimes yes, sometimes no. The first few albums rock a little too hard, in my estimation — but the smooth complexity of “Aja” and “Gaucho” fit the genre perfectly. In fact, one of the quintessential moments of yacht rock (which often indulged in lush studio experimentation) is the doubling of McDonald’s backing vocals on the chorus of “Peg.” Though Donald Fagen (vehemently) wanted no part in the film, the Steely Dan producer Gary Katz makes an appearance and recalls Fagen saying, when he first heard the playback of McDonald’s voice on this track, “He sounds like a thousand camels in the courtyard.”
4. Toto: “Georgy Porgy”
The Porcaro brothers — drummer Jeff, bassist Mike and keyboardist Steve — and their friend David Paich were precocious, prolific and widely respected session musicians in late 1970s Los Angeles. Even after forming Toto and finding instant success, the band’s members continued to work on other artist’s records — most notably on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” This lightly funky tune, sung by the vocalist Steve Lukather, was one of three hit singles from Toto’s 1978 self-titled debut album.
5. Christopher Cross: “Never Be the Same”
With his multiplatinum 1979 self-titled debut album, the Texas-born singer-songwriter Christopher Cross morphed into a superstar overnight. The following year, he became the first artist in history to sweep all four of the Grammys’ all-genre categories — record, song and album of the year, plus best new artist — an unmatched achievement until Billie Eilish won them in 2020. Though Cross’s hit “Sailing” is the more obvious choice (and, interestingly enough, a rare yacht rock song that is actually about a boat), I’m partial to this mid-tempo, melancholic soft rocker.
6. Ambrosia: “Biggest Part of Me”
When the L.A. band Ambrosia was opening for the Doobie Brothers on a late 1970s tour, McDonald gave the frontman David Pack some songwriting advice: If you’re looking for some really out-there chord progressions, check out George Frideric Handel’s practice books. Pack took note and soon after came up with the foundation of this dreamy 1980 tune, which would become one of the band’s biggest hits.
7. Brenda Russell: “Lucky”
Though most of the beneficiaries of the recent yacht-rock revival have been white dudes, the documentary effectively argues that the scene was more diverse than many recognize. One of many examples is Brenda Russell’s sleek 1981 album “Love Life,” which features this buoyant, lighter-than-air bop. (Adding to its yacht rock bona fides: Toto’s Jeff Porcaro and Lukather play drums and guitar, respectively, on the track.)
8. Michael McDonald: “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)”
“He has a really comforting voice,” Amir Thompson a.k.a. Questlove says of McDonald, “akin to a really funky Muppet.” Listen to this single from McDonald’s 1982 solo debut “If That’s What It Takes” and just try and tell me he’s wrong.
9. Warren G featuring Nate Dogg: “Regulate”
By the mid-1980s, once MTV had transformed pop music into something glossier, more personality-driven and more provocative, many of yacht rock’s luminaries fell out of fashion. These artists were later embraced by a new generation of hip-hop artists and producers, who appreciated the music’s laid-back grooves. One of the great examples of the connection between yacht rock and rap is Warren G and Nate Dogg’s era-defining 1994 single “Regulate,” which memorably samples McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near).” “It was a record that I always loved, from being a kid and my parents playing it when they had their company of friends over,” Warren G once said of the McDonald tune. “It was a record that just stuck in my head, and it just felt good.”
10. De La Soul featuring Otis Redding: “Eye Know”
And another great yacht-rock/hip-hop crossover event: De La Soul’s sweetly soul-bearing 1989 track, which samples the vocals and keyboard riff from Steely Dan’s “Peg.” “‘Peg’ was a hood song because you heard it in the hood,” the producer Prince Paul says in the documentary. “It was etched in our childhood, growing up.”
11. Thundercat featuring Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins: “Show You the Way”
Finally, this celestial 2017 single from the millennial bassist and producer Thundercat exemplifies how yacht rock’s influence continues to ripple in unexpected ways. Thundercat wrote it with two of his professed musical idols, McDonald and Loggins; its light touch and deep grooves are proof the bassist is an astute admirer of their catalog. “It’s nice to revisit that excitement for this kind of music through a young cat’s eyes who in some ways reminds you of yourself at that age,” McDonald told Rolling Stone. Thundercat added of McDonald, with the aforementioned excitement, “That dude is more Lebowski than anybody.”
The Amplifier Playlist
“The Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist” track list
Track 1: The Doobie Brothers, “What a Fool Believes”
Track 2: Kenny Loggins, “I Believe in Love”
Track 3: Steely Dan, “Peg”
Track 4: Toto, “Georgy Porgy”
Track 5: Christopher Cross, “Never Be the Same”
Track 6: Ambrosia, “Biggest Part of Me”
Track 7: Brenda Russell, “Lucky”
Track 8: Michael McDonald, “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)”
Track 9: Warren G featuring Nate Dogg, “Regulate”
Track 10: De La Soul featuring Otis Redding, “Eye Know”
Track 11: Thundercat featuring Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, “Show You the Way”
Bonus Tracks
Earlier this year, Michael McDonald published a memoir, co-written with Paul Reiser and titled — what else? — “What a Fool Believes.” “I thought, ‘Well, that’s just too obvious,’” he jokes in a delightful Times profile written by Alexandra Jacobs. “I wanted it to be something clever and mind-provoking, and I couldn’t really think of anything because, you know, I have a problem provoking my own mind.”
The post The Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist appeared first on New York Times.
